Gennady Golovkin: Did Triple G show deficiencies against Monroe?

On Saturday, May 16, the apparent most avoided man in the Middleweight division, Gennady Golovkin, successfully defended his WBA, IBO, and interim WBC titles in sensational fashion by scoring an impressive stoppage victory over customarily elusive southpaw Willie Monroe Jr. in front of a near capacity crowd at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.

And while Triple G’s ever growing fan base was thrilled with the sixth round TKO win, the Kazakh native’s detractors have made many comments on his apparent defensive lapses through the third, fourth and fifth rounds of last Saturday night’s entertaining scrap.

Did the Middleweight marauder finally show other competing fighters in and around the 160 pound weight class some deficiencies in his otherwise complete fight game?

Three decade fight trainer and FightSaga Radio personality James Gogue indeed observed several flaws in Gennady’s short range defense, which could make a potential fight with Canelo Alvarez very interesting.

“I saw several chinks in Triple G’s armor from mid to short range during his fight with Willie Monroe this past Saturday night,” states the expert strategist. “I would still favor Golovkin in the match-up, but the playing field just evened out a bit, in my opinion.”

With all of Canelo’s athletic gifts, as well as his deceptively high ring intelligence, “The Gogue” believes the 24 year old, Mexican superstar could potentially exploit several holes in Triple G’s defense.

“To be successful against a fighter like Gennady Golovkin, a fighter must possess three vital characteristics,” observes the experienced fight trainer. “first, you have to fight Golovkin in the pocket to be successful, so you have to be physically strong. Second, you need the skill set to fight from mid to short range. And finally, you need punching power.”

“Canelo has all three qualities to make a potential fight with Triple G intriguing.”

“Alvarez would have the faster hands, the sharper counter punching ability and better reflexes in this suggested head to head contest. Golovkin still possesses the heavier hands of the two, but Canelo can still hurt the current Middleweight champ with his explosive combination of speed and power.”

“Canelo’s body shots from mid to short range, and creative combinations would be effective against Golovkin…Triple G doesn’t seem to be gifted with great reflexes to avoid those punches from short distances. The foundation of his defense seems to be reliant on his footwork and ability to see and block punches. He doesn’t have the defensive craft of Canelo Alvarez.”

The knowledgeable boxing coach believes his occasional defensive lapses could be a product of Golovkin’s affinity for the always impressive and fan friendly knock-out. Although a KO victory is certainly the most decisive way to win any prizefight, it does place the pursuing fighter in harms way when looking for the stoppage victory.

Could the undefeated puncher’s cravings for the exciting knock-out win ultimately be a detriment against an elite level athlete like Canelo Alvarez?

“Golovkin seems to be overtly concerned with KOs and not content with just breaking his opponents down using his technical abilities,” professes James Gogue. “Just like when Roberto Duran was on his way up, there’s a lot of pressure to close every show with a knock-out. If he merely wins on points, the fight public might actually view the performance as unsatisfactory.”

“It’s the nature of how Golovkin’s been marketed and comes with the territory."

"If they do meet in the professional ring in 2016, Triple G might want to think twice about searching for the big KO finish against a very crafty, sharp-shooting counter puncher like Canelo…it could ultimately lead to his first professional loss.”